Empty and vain are the words of that philosopher
which offer no relief for human suffering.

—Porphyry, Letter to Marcella

Philosophy can be understood, not primarily as the systematic study of ideas, but as a way of life—the art of living. To practice this art is to commit yourself as completely as you are able to embracing truth and following wherever it might lead. Many philosophers have understood the practice of philosophy as a way to relieve the suffering that comes from living at odds with reality. In that spirit, Porphyry writes: “Every disturbance and unprofitable desire is removed by the love of true philosophy.” In a similar way, Freud wrote that the practice of psychoanalysis is based upon “a love for truth—that is, on a recognition of reality, which precludes any kind of sham or deceit.” Philosophy and depth therapy share a commitment to the pursuit of truth and honesty about oneself and the world. For those interested in the intersection of philosophy and psychoanalytic therapy, these sources might be a good place to start:

• Plato’s dialogues, particularly Gorgias, Republic, Symposium, Phaedrus, Charmides, Protagoras, and Alcibiades I.

• Jonathan Lear, Love and Its Place in Nature: A Philosophical Interpretation of Freudian Psychoanalysis. Yale University Press, 1999.

• Alasdair MacIntyre, The Unconscious: A Conceptual Analysis. Routledge, 2004.

• Donna Orange, Thinking for Clinicians: Philosophical Resources for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and the Humanistic Psychotherapies. Routledge, 2010.

If you find yourself interested in further resources about the relationship between depth therapy and philosophy, you can find a more developed reading list here.